Japan: Regulator looking to revise penalty system

According to Nikkei, Japan is considering changes to its antitrust penalty system in order to more easily fine overseas companies that collude with Japanese partners, aiming at cross-border cartels as business activity grows more globalized.

Currently, the law assesses monetary penalties based on domestic sales derived from the cartel. Unfortunately, this method runs into problems when dealing with international cartels that agree to allocate markets among member participants whose turf lies outside Japan and remain beyond the system’s reach.

The new system would leave much to the commission’s discretion and look to systems such as the European Union’s, which assesses fines based on the full duration of the anti-competitive activity in question, making it important to gain the business community’s support. The watchdog has also released its analysis for discussion with a request for public comment.

Full Content: Nikkei

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